Darren.

Wow, great price! I'll have to check mine out. I've got the C2 30. Actually prefer the variable speed models, but they're too price for me at this time.

I will fish them both ways. Usually I use weightless, but when I'm fishing windy conditions, I'll use weighted so that the wacky rig will go down in the waves. As far as depth, the deeper you want to fish, the weighted jigs obviously take it down quicker.

http://intheriffle.com/the-riffle/fly-tying-weed-guards/ Here is a hook I tied - pics in the thread:

I was about to add this scenario, as well. I do not use o rings, prefer perpendicular straight through the worm, or I use a thin cut of shrink wrap.

Luke, my favorite hook for wacky is the Gamakatsu Finesse Wide Gap, followed by the Gamakatsu Split shot/Drop shot hook which is a thinner wire. With the Finesse Wide Gap you can go with a size 1 or 1/0, even a 2/0. As for the weed guard versions, they come in packs of 5. But what I do is make my own weed guards and I buy packs of 25 hooks to save money. I bought a $20 (give or take) fly tying vice kit at Bass Pro, some thread, and a whip finishing tool. Some 40 or 50 pound Ande mono leader and learned how to do it. Saves a LOT of $$ in the long run. If you are interested in doing that, there's an awesome tutorial I can send you. I'm sure your local Gander Mountain has inexpensive kit to get you started.

Yes, they could be small bass. I had exactly that happen to me, but I kept casting back into that same spot and the same fish kept taking the bait, but not getting hooked. I eventually caught it, and it was a small bass maybe 8" long. Even so, I've seen bluegill take one end of the worm and run off with it. So it could be either/or. I've also caught tiny bass on 3/0 wacky hooks, so even tho they are small, their mouth is still big, bigger than a bream of the same length.

Bluegill and sunnies, fish like that. You should be fine with that rod. Catt's right that it could be bream (sunfish, etc.) tugging at your bait. They can pull it and never get the hook in their mouths. Typically they feel like little machine gun taps on your line.

Had to look it up. So it's a Gander Mtn rod. Is it the 6'6" or 5'6" rod listed here: http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=727161 If it is the shorter one, that's your problem. An Ultra Light will not have the stoutness to set the hook, depending on whether the hook is a heavy wire (thicker) or not. I'm not saying a UL rod can't be used for it, but it isn't the best for the job. I prefer a stiffer rod, M with an XF tip, or even a Fast tip. But I also use my St. Croix ML for wacky rigging, but it's got an XF tip.

Luke, what is the rating of your rod? Medium, Medium Light, MH? And what is the type of hook - brand. If you are using a wire weed guard like on the VMC wacky hooks, that could be your problem right there. The wire is too stiff, IMO, and when I tried those hooks I lost a lot of fish.

I hate the drone movement. Can understand photographers and videographers using them....

I would have released it rather than tempt the texture gods, LOL!!! I'm just not that into fish for other than the sport of fishing....

Love smallies. None down where I live. Only enjoyed them when I was north of here. Awesome fight/catch.

Awesome catch!

Nice beast! Good catch!

7.5# Wacky rig, can't remember worm color off hand...

Welcome aboard, Ryan!

Welcome aboard, Alex!

Welcome aboard! Try tying a double Palomar knot, aka Nanofil knot. You do two wraps of the doubled line before putting the loop over your hook.

Welcome aboard!

Nice PB BG, Jeff! My PB BG is 1 pound even. Solid fish, fantastic fight. Caught on a senko which I had cast over a low bush, instead of unsnapping, i plopped the senko up and down on the water making a ruckus and bang, the BG hit. Unsnagged me, too

No, not unless you can work with live graphene cells that can rearrange on electrical charge to what ever length desired... Good luck with that. Probably have to raid Area 51 for the raw materials.

Lots of combos you can look at at a Bass Pro, Cabelas, Gander Mountain, etc. Best thing is to get your hands on a rod/reel combo in a store to see how it feels in YOUR hands, not ours. We've got a ton of opinions here at BR. Some love brand X while some hate it, and so on. Since I have a BPS locally, I know they have deals on house rods with different reels, not necessarily house brand. So you can ask at the counter what reels can you offer as a combo with *this* rod and they'll tel you. Then put those reels on the rod you like and see how it balances out. That's very important. Your hands are not our hands, so you may not love what I do, and so on. Good luck.

I say buy one of those new "Dial-a-Technique" rods "As Seen On TV"... you know the one with the technique ring on the butt end of the rod. Frogging, dial it to D. It'll be heavy power. Drop Shot. Dial it to DS, ML power. Cranking - CR and so on...

Welcome aboard, Kevin! Good luck with those Peacocks. They're on my bucket list, so no experience here.

Welcome aboard! Best bass fishing site on the web!!